Google Year in Search: IPL Stumps Coronavirus as Indians Ask ´How to´ and ´What is´

The Indian Premier League (IPL) remains the top trending query on Google Search, while Joe Biden and Arnab Goswami feature among the top trending personalities, and Money Heist and 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story among the top trending web series, according to Google´s ´Year in Search´ results.

Glancing back at what captured Google´s attention in 2020, Google announced the ‘Year in Search’ results. While globally people asked ´why´ most, Indians specifically asked ‘How to’ and ‘What is’ the most.

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The fact that search terms this year were dominated by the obvious concern surrounding the global pandemic, with a rush in questions regarding the Coronavirus, is a no brainer. Cricket loving Indians still had more questions about IPL, which made it the top trending query. News events such as the US elections triggered significant search activity along with Bihar elections and Delhi elections.

Personalities

US President-elect Joe Biden became one of the top trending personalities along with TV journalist Arnab Goswami. Remarkably, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan Scheme), which provides monetary support to farmers, made it to the top of the trending chart, as netizens sought the latest news, information, and updates.

Joe Biden and Arnab Goswami were followed by Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who made it to the most searched personalities this year. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, actress Kangana Ranaut, Rhea Chakraborty, and Ankita Lokhande also featured in the trending personalities.

Joe Biden and Arnab Goswami were followed by Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who made it to the most searched personalities this year. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, actress Kangana Ranaut, Rhea Chakraborty, and Ankita Lokhande also featured in the trending personalities.

Among other international personalities that made it to the list are North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un, Afghan cricketing sensation Rashid Khan, and the India-origin US Vice President-elect, Kamala Harris.

Entertainment

Dil Bechara emerged as the top trending movie of 2020, followed by Tamil action-drama Soorarai Pottru. Bollywood biopics like Tanhaji, Shakuntala Devi, and Gunjan Saxena captured the top five spots.

The intermittent lockdowns saw a surge in queries for Web Series this year with Money Heist topping the list, followed by Indian entries like Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Bigg Boss 14 and Mirzapur 2.

While Bollywood flicks, Laxmii, Baaghi 3, and Gulabo Sitabo dominated the list, the only Hollywood movie to cut it was Extraction. The intermittent lockdowns saw a surge in queries for Web Series this year with Money Heist topping the list, followed by Indian entries like Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Bigg Boss 14 and Mirzapur 2.

News

Amidst the foremost news events, the Indian Premier League, the Coronavirus, and the US elections generated significant search activity, as users sought for the latest updates and election results. Among other imperative news events were the frequent lockdowns and the locust swarm attack. International news events like the Beirut explosion and bushfires in Australia also made it to the list.

‘How to’ and ‘What is’

The most interesting search terms that Indians used this year were centered around ‘How to’ and ‘What is’ lists, indicative of society’s mood as it dealt with the pandemic, moving to remote working. ‘How to make paneer?’ and ‘How to increase immunity?’ ruled the list, followed by the unignorable ‘How to make Dalgona coffee.’

‘What is’ queries included the inexplicable ‘What is binod?’, followed by several virus-related queries such as ‘What is plasma therapy?’ and ‘What is hantavirus?’.

The most interesting search terms that Indians used this year were centered around ‘How to’ and ‘What is’ lists, indicative of society’s mood as it dealt with the pandemic, moving to remote working.

‘Near me’ queries also saw action with unprecedented lockdowns, as local searches sought ‘Food shelters near me,’ followed by ‘COVID test near me.’ With most of the population working from home, searches for ‘Broadband connection near me’ and ‘Laptop shop near me’ also appeared flagrantly this year.

Read more: The Pandemic is Forcing Indian Education to Digitize but What About Those Without Smart Means?

From the global pandemic to the history-making US elections, the Year in Search continues to recapitulate the top search trends, offering a unique perspective to the questions Internet users have asked on Google Search.